Noticeboard

PPG AGM

The PPG AGM will be held on 2nd April 2019 at Frithwood Surgery. The meeting will start at 7.30pm and is open to all patients.

FRITHWOOD Patient Participation Group(PPG)

It is now a requirement for every Surgery to have a PPG. The Patient Participation Group (PPG) is a group of patients at a surgery who have an interest in the services provided. Patient Participation Groups cross barriers, embrace diversity and work in partnership with the surgery to improve common understanding and help identify new services to meet patients' needs.

Every registered patient at Frithwood Surgery is a member of our Patient Participation Group, but if you are interested in getting more involved please contact the Practice Manager.

Clinics & Services

Our Practice Nurses are available throughout the week, by appointment, to carry out health promotion, travel immunisation sessions and routine cervical smears as well as offering general advice on health matters.

Appointments with the Nurse should be made at the Reception or on the following telephone number: 01453 882868

Appointments with the nurse can be made on-line if you have registered with Emis Access (see Emis Access link in contents for more details). Please note that the appointments booked on-line with the nurse are for blood tests and blood pressure checks ONLY, for anything else you will need to contact the surgery and book in the usual way.

On a Monday & Tuesday morning we have an urgent appointment triage system which is run by Sister Annette Marsh, she will assess each patient's needs by means of a telephone call and either offer advice or an appointment whichever is appriopriate

In addition to GP consultations the practice adheres to the General Medical Services Contract for the provision of healthcare services:

Essential Services

Asthma/COPD Clinics

These are run on a Thursday afternoon by our Practice Nurse Pippa Williams 13.30-15.30. If you are unable to come to the surgery at this time please make an appointment with Pippa at some other time but please make the receptionist aware that it is for an Asthma check so that she can make sure that enough time is allocated for the appointment.

Diabetic Clinic

Appointments for the Diabetic Clinic are available on a Monday afternoon 14.00-15.00 and on a Wednesday morning 10.45-12.30, both clinics are with Sister Annette Marsh.

Additional Services

Cervical Smears

These are carried out by the practice nurses. Appointments can be made by the receptionists

Contraceptive Services

We offer a range of contraceptive options for our patients. If you would like to discuss which choice is best for you please make an appointment with one of the Doctors.

Health Visitor Clinics

Our Health Visitors are responsible for the developmental assessment of all preschool children. The Health Visitors run a clinic on every other Thursday afternoon 14.00-15.30 no pre booked appointment is necessary just report to reception on arrival. The Health Visitors can be contacted by phoning 0300 421 8967. Non Urgent messages for the Health Visitors can be left at the Surgery.

Maternity Services

A Midwife is attached to the practice and holds Ante Natal clinics, by appointment, on Thursday afternoon 14.00-16.00. Messages for the Midwife can be left at the surgery on 01453 882868 or at Stroud Maternity Hospital 01453 562140

Minor surgery

Minor surgery is done in the surgery by Dr Burke on Wednesday afternoons 15.30-16.30 and by Dr Nattrass on Alternate Thursday afternoons 15.30-16.30. You need to be seen by the Doctor who is going to be carrying out the procedure prior to booking an appointment for Minor Surgery.

Adult Vaccinations.

All adults should ensure that they have had a tetanus booster in the last 10 years (only a total of 5 tetanus boosters are needed in a lifetime) and have had a full course of polio vaccinations, if in doubt then please check with the receptionist. Flu and Pneumococcal vaccinations are available each Autumn for patients over 65 and those in the 'at risk' groups. Pneumococcal vaccinations are only needed once in a lifetime.

For adults and some children who are vulnerable (eg those with diabetes, emphysema, heart failure, splenectomy, etc) other vaccinations may be recommended (eg influenza, pneumococcal, meningitis).

These are done by the Practice Nurses please telephone for an appointment

Travel Vaccinations

If you require any vaccinations relating to foreign travel you need to make an appointment with the practice nurse to discuss your travel arrangements. This will include which countries and areas within countries that you are visiting to determine what vaccinations are required.

There is further information about countries and vaccinations required on the links below

It is important to make this initial appointment as early as possible - at least 6 weeks before you travel - as a second appointment will be required with the practice nurse to actually receive the vaccinations. These vaccines have to be ordered as they are not a stock vaccine. Your second appointment needs to be at least 2 weeks before you travel to allow the vaccines to work.

Some travel vaccines are ordered on a private prescription and these incur a charge over and above the normal prescription charge. This is because not all travel vaccinations are included in the services provided by the NHS.

Non-NHS Services

Some services provided are not covered under our contract with the NHS and therefore attract charges. Examples include the following:

Military veterans – priority NHS care

If you are a Military Veteran, please let reception, your GP or nurse know so we can update your medical records.

The UK Government has pledged to support Military Veterans with priority NHS care.

Who is defined as a veteran? ‘A veteran is someone who has served in the armed forces for at least one day in the regular or reservist forces’. There are around 4.5m veterans in the UK.

When servicemen and women leave the armed forces, their healthcare is the responsibility of the NHS.

All veterans are entitled to priority access to NHS hospital care for any condition as long as it’s related to their service, regardless of whether or not they receive a war pension.

Veterans are encouraged to tell their GP about their veteran status in order to benefit from priority treatment if appropriate.

Shingles Vaccination

Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, is caused by the reactivation of a latent varicella zoster virus (VZV) infection. Primary VZV infection manifests as chickenpox, a highly contagious condition that is characterised by an itchy, vesicular rash. Following this initial infection, the virus enters the dorsal root ganglia and remains there as a permanent, dormant infection. Reactivation of this latent VZV infection, generally occurring decades later, causes shingles.

Approximately 1 in 4 people will develop shingles during their lifetime. Both the incidence and the severity of the condition increases with age. Older individuals are also more likely to develop secondary complications, such as bacterial skin infections and post-herpetic neuralgia (intractable pain).

The predominant symptom of shingles is pain, often with associated paraesthesia (pricking, tingling or numbness). This is followed by the development of a painful rash, similar in appearance to that of chickenpox, which forms itchy, fluid-filled blisters that usually persist for two to four weeks. These disturbances occur in a unilateral dermatomal distribution, corresponding to the ganglia in which the viral infection is located. Other symptoms may include headache, photophobia, malaise and fever.

Who is Eligible?

Patients born on or after 02/19/1942 are part of the routine programme and will become eligible as soon as they turn 70.

Patients born before 02/09/1942 are part of the catch-up programme and will become eligible as soon as they turn 78.

Please note that patients are now eligible from the date they turn the required age (70 or 78), rather than on 1 September.

Patients then remain eligible until their 80th birthday.

For further information please either speak to a GP or Practice Nurse. You can also visit the NHS Choices website at www.nhs.uk/shingles

Find Local Services In Your Area

Enter all or part of your postcode in the box below and click one of the buttons
to find those services that are local to you.